Original Design

God has spoken into our DNA a unique identity intentionally given to each one of us before we were even formed in our mother’s wombs. Our individual makeup set apart by the creator is as unique as our fingerprint.

“We’ve heard a bit about original sin, but not nearly enough about original glory, which comes before sin and is deeper to our nature.” John Eldredge

Our original design is more deeply connected to our nature than our sin nature. The majority of us spend more time hyper-focused on the fall of man than we spend focused on the Creator’s intention for our individual original glory. When God spoke the world, universe, and humanity into existence, everything received an original design and destiny. The fall of man did not take that intention away from us. Nor was it removed from us as a form of punishment. Original design is the deposit that God placed inside of all creation when He spoke it into existence.

Our original design as humans is our individual gift mix partnered with our personalities. It is our original identity before we were conditioned by society, told to grow up quickly, or damaged by life situations. This identity is non-negotiable in heaven, although it sometimes does change if we empower that to happen. We allow it to be modified and transformed by not protecting it as we go through hurts, traumas, confusion, and influence from the enemy. Everyone has experienced circumstances where our intended design becomes compromised. Being bullied at school, betrayed by a friend, rejected from a team or disappointed with a dream are normal situations most of us go through. The enemy uses these and other events to rob from us our original design which is meant to bring us into the fullness of maturity and potential.

I homeschooled all of my kids for different intentions and seasons, then the grace wore out and we all stopped thriving. When my youngest was getting ready to go into first grade, I was nervous about him entering the public school system. I wasn’t paranoid about him being influenced by the world. I was worried about him losing his original design in a classroom setting. On one hand, I was very excited for someone other than me to enforce that he sit still in a seat for more than two minutes. On the other hand, my son has a beautiful gift of problem solving and cognitive reasoning that I was nervous was going to be overridden by a school’s instruction to follow directions and color inside the lines. It was easy for me to nurture his original design at home. I had the time and emotional awareness to notice that worksheets were not his thing. It took him three times as long as my others to finish a math problem because he wanted to explain to you three different ways to solve the problem.

He also will be the first one to tell you that his gift from Jesus is joy and being funny. He has a call on his life to release joy and make people laugh! He has done it since toddlerhood. He would use his unique humor and gift if one of the other kids got hurt; he would do something to dissolve the intensity of the moment and change the atmosphere, having his sibling focus on joy and not pain. We tried our best to protect this original design of his, to teach him when it is and is not appropriate, to help him recognize the difference between silly and rude. We’ve helped him grow in recognizing how he affects a room when he enters it. We’ve taught him to ask himself, “Do I want attention, or do I want people to experience joy?”

To think about him leaving home, an atmosphere that nurtured this gift, and transfer into a class setting where he might be labeled the class clown or troublemaker made my heart tense. I never want him to experience any type of rejection in his gift. My kids’ original design is priceless and pure. It is my job as a mom to preserve those traits in my kids. I’m like a warrior looking out for anything that might try to taint or distort the very things that God placed in their lives to make them unique. How many of us actually have an original design that we expressed in our childhood but we were told in elementary school to sit in a seat, not talk when the teacher was talking, and to follow a behavioral plan that was best for a class of 40 students. How many of us had a nature that failed us in a moment of trauma and anxiety and we allowed ourselves to be changed because of a lie we believed in our youth?

I had the privilege of meeting with a sweet young woman for a prayer session. As I had prayed for her before our appointment I felt like Jesus told me she had a very adventurous spirit. Her heart longed for the unknown. She was born to thrive in curiosity and develop things out of her discoveries. When I told this to her she said, “No, that’s not me.” I asked her, “Would you be interested in asking Holy Spirit if this is true at all?” She obliged, and He told her it was true.

I could tell by the look on her face, she was shocked. We asked the Holy Spirit, “When did her original design get stolen from her?” He immediately brought her back to a memory of her childhood. She remembered her younger days of climbing all over things, being spontaneous, wild and free and then what happened in her youth that changed her desire for those adventurous moments. She giggled as she replied. “I can’t believe I never put two and two together.” Jesus is always in the business of restoration. Redemption is what He specializes in. Through a declaration, we quickly severed the harm that was done to her though conditions in her youth and professed that she got back everything that belonged to her original design that had been changed or stolen (John 10:10).

Some of us have been so disconnected with God’s original design in us that we don’t even remember being or having that gift or bend. As much as the enemy tries to steal from us, we were never meant to live without what is rightfully ours. It is unjust and Jesus loves restoring us back to His original intent!

I challenge you right now to take a moment and ask the Lord this very question and then give Him some time to respond and restore to you so you can be the best version of yourself thriving in your original design!!

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Born and raised in Southern California, Christina Andriese currently lives in Murrieta, CA with her husband of 10 years, Ian, and their three incredible children - Aria, Ethan and Luke.

Christina loves to take in any and every opportunity to connect with people’s hearts and to encourage them to become the best version of themselves. Her dream is to see the church awaken to her full potential - to see humanity walk in freedom - ignited by hope, empowered to dream, and equipped to operate out of the resurrection power that Jesus provides!

When she isn’t homeschooling, being a chauffeur, ministering or working, Christina enjoys napping, going to the beach and reading.